The Argonauts
by AnimeHat
Summary: Six brave teenagers enter the world of Sburb on a mythological quest drastically different from a typical session. The team struggles to enter the Medium at first, but quickly advance upon arriving. Their journey is cut short when a new player enters the game and introduces her own, destructive twist to their adventure. (Note: Uses original characters. Please enjoy!)
1. The Hero

**Enter Name: JASON ARGO**

A black void. A bright blue sun at the very center with wispy clouds in it's atmosphere. Planets orbiting the blue sun, each with its own color and size. Invisible chains linking these planets and strangling the sun. A giant flaming mass, on a collision course with the blue sun.

These objects had been swirling around in Jason Argo's dreams for nights on end. Whether they were premonitions or a result of an overactive imagination, he had no idea.

One thing was for sure: he was excited for this new game.

Jason pushed the dirty clothes on his bed aside and flopped down on it, heaving a huge sigh. When is it going to get here? He ordered it days ago, but it has yet to come.

Sixteen year old, and he apparently didn't have anything better to do with his life than play online games with friends. Jason had shoulder length, blond hair and orange eyes. He wore his normal attire: a black shirt with the Triforce displayed in gold at the center, long dark jeans and worn converse.

Jason had a huge interest in mainly two things: video games and mythology. They were his life breath. He owned quite a few books telling tales of ancient gods and heroes, right next to a PC ready to run TF2, Bioshock, or many of the other games he found entertaining. Jason liked Anime somewhat since one friend in particular had been trying to get him into it for a while.

He stared at the posters of various video game characters and mythological figures plastered on the walls of his room. He admired Gordon Freeman standing next to the noble Mars, Roman god of war. He loved both of the guys. Samus Aran blasted Metroids to pieces on the same plain where Perseus holds Medusa's head up in triumph from _Clash of the Titans._ He loved both the original and the remake.

He continued gazing for minutes before he finally decided to get off the bed. He walked with caution, not to step on any of the video game merch spread across the floor. He made a mental note to pick that up later.

He sat down in his favorite spinning chair and moved the piles of unfinished assignments and abandoned art projects to the side to make room for his laptop. He pulled his laptop out of his sylladex and opened it. The screen lit up and he selected Pesterchum from the bar of icons at the bottom of the screen.

Only one of his friends was online. He started to pester him, desperate for a way to escape the boredom of waiting.

**immortalSwordsman **began pestering **sarcasmIncarnate**.

IM: What's up, best bro?

IM: You're just as pumped to play Sburb as me, right?

SI: Absolutely, my excitement levels are near overflowing.

IM: Whoa, really?

IM: And here I thought that I was the only one about to punch a whole in the wall.

SI: You really are clueless.

IM: Why?

SI: Take a nice, long look at my handle.

SI: Can you glean any knowledge about my previous statement from it?

IM: You… Were being sarcastic?

SI: Bingo.

SI: You and SH are really the only ones in our group to be this excited about our game session. In fact, I believe TS finds the idea abhorrent.

IS: Well, that's kind of too bad for the both of you.

IS: I mean, we DID make a group agreement to play.

SI: Yes, I realize that.

SI: In retrospect, that was a terrible move on my part. Now I think about all the time I could have spent in a comfortable chair, sipping coffee with a good book in hand. Now I have to play this game, which I imagine will be a total waste of time.

IS: You DO know that SH will force you to play, whether you want to or not?

IS: We need six players, for whatever reason, and we don't have anyone else that can fill your part.

SI: Hm, I guess that makes me quite the important person, huh?

IS: Not sure if you're being sarcastic, but it actually does!

SI: Whatever. I'll be standing by whenever you need me to connect.

IS: Great! All I have to do is get my copy of the game, then we'll be set.

**immortalSwordsman **ceased pestering **sarcasmIncarnate**.

Jason looked at the time on his computer display. It was just past noon, meaning the that mail should have run by now. His older brother was responsible for picking it up, so it was possible that he had gotten the package along with everything else. Jason decided that further investigation was necessary.

**Jason: Complete Objective**

He got up from the desk and put the laptop back into his sylladex. Jason's sylladex worked on an INVENTORY Modus, meaning he could take anything out as long as it was necessary to his quest.

He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, making sure to close it gently. His sister was sound asleep in the room across from him and he didn't dare wake her up for fear of his personal safety.

He crept down the short hallway on his right into the main living space. Not dignified enough to be called a living room, since their apartment only had one main room. A couch and some other pieces of furniture were pointed at TV and the YBox 180 console standing next to it. A shelf of games stood proudly on the other side containing a huge variety of titles that had been compiled over the years.

A kitchenette off to the left had all the food storage and cooking basics. On a whim, Jason opened the refrigerator and popped a bottle of Orange Faygo open and began to drink with enthusiasm. When the bottle was about half empty, he tore it away from his lips. _This stuff never gets old, _he thought.

He put the bottle back in the refrigerator and refocused on his objective. He searched the living room and the kitchen for a package marked Sburb, but couldn't find one. He had to assume that Bro had taken it upstairs with him.

Jason shuddered a bit. The thought of intruding on Bro was discontenting, but he remembered the promise he had made to his internet buddies. Nothing would stop him from playing with them. The feeling fortified him somewhat as he began climbing up the stairs to Bro's room. Although there weren't many steps leading to the top, he couldn't shake off a the sense of dread, the kind of feeling a person gets before they engage a powerful boss in combat. It almost reminded him of Ganondorf's Castle.

He opened the door at the top leading into Bro's room. Bookshelves filled with CD's and Bro's favorite novels lined the walls. A desk with a PC sat in the corner nearby his bed. In a surprising contrast to Jason, Bro was very orderly. Jason supposed he needed to be since he had begun working within the past few years.

A skateboard leaned against the wall. It looked as if it hadn't been touched for a while. And unfortunate reminder that Bro hasn't been able to pursue his interest in skating for quite sometime.

Jason scanned Bro's desk. A brown envelope marked Sburb Beta sat ajar next to some other pieces of mail. His face instantly lit up. He forgot about the trinkets scattered around the room and immediately made his way towards the package.

It was just within his grasp… Just a little closer… Just a _little _closer…

BOOM

The floor collapsed under Jason's feet. The impact of his fall on the lower floor was enough for the floorboards to split and send him plummeting down another story into the room below. Another one of Bro's ingenious traps, explosives buried underneath his footing. It seemed pretty elaborate just to keep his little bro from playing some stupid video game.

While lying in the pile of broken floorboards, Jason had a feeling that this was only the start of his troubles.


	2. The Critic

**Enter Name: RICHARD ORPHEUS**

**Pesterchum Handle: saracasmIncarnate**

Richard's cold blue eyes stare into nothingness for a moment, but he soon realizes that the reader is attempting to "be" him. Whatever that means.

He crossed his room and looked out the curtains. Sunlight glinted off his jet black hair as he looked out into the surrounding forest. Richard wore a gray t-shirt with the astronomical sign for Pluto and a black jacket loosely hanging on his shoulders. He wore a long, multicolor scarf as homage to a certain doctor.

No activity to be seen. What a surprise. Nothing ever happened out here in the sticks, unless his little brother Joseph found the sugar supply. Then there was trouble.

Richard lived with his younger brother and mother in a small chateau on the hillsides near Lake Tahoe, California. Many people owned houses similar to theirs, the only difference being that the Orpheus' property was miles away from any town. Mother often left on shopping trips like this, leaving Richard in charge. Today was yet another one of those slow days.

Besides the internet, Richard had no (entertaining) company other than the many sweet books lining the shelves on his walls. He had read nearly all of them at least once. There was yet to be a novel that he couldn't conquer. His latest attempt was at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's _Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. _As a matter of fact, his ideal day was sitting down in a comfortable chair with a cup of coffee, his Sherlock Holmes treasury, and hours of quiet.

He feared that this upcoming game would prevent him from doing such for quite awhile.

Richard grimaced. His recent conversation with Jason had established nothing he didn't already know. He wished that the heroic dimwit would hurry up and connect and liberate him from boredom.

With nothing else to do, he decided to strike up a conversation with SH. He opened his laptop and began pestering her.

**sarcasmIncarnate **began pestering **spunkHuntress.**

SI: Are you there?

SI: Please, I'm dying with boredom. Come out and say something. Anything.

SH: ADVENTURE!

SI: Should have seen that one coming.

SH: Lol good Jason impression, huh?

SI: Most definitely.

SH: So what's up with you?

SI: Still waiting for our resident H.D. to connect to me so we can get this show on the road.

SH: Our H.D.?

SI: Heroic Dimwit. Jason.

SH: ohhhhhhhh

SI: I explained this already. It's my reference term for our fearless leader.

SH: I'll make a better effort to remember in the future!

SI: You should. I have a feeling our group will be spending quite a bit of time together in the future…

SH: Just out of curiosity, but have you been having weird dreams as of late?

SI: My dreams are generally weird, but these have been significantly different if that's what you're referring to.

SH: Like a bright blue sun, or something?

SH: Whenever I have them, I'm waking up in a place the color of gold. It's really warm there. I have my own personal room that's sort of like mine, except there's a balcony. Whenever I step out, I see a huge blue mass in the sky and a golden city stretching out beneath me.

SH: Is that strange?

SI: Well… I do see a blue sun, but my surroundings are completely different from yours.

SI: I have a room with a balcony, like what you described, but the entire place is colored dark purple. It's quite chilly from time to time, but never enough to feel uncomfortable. There are elegant palaces going as far as the eye can see, but the streets are dark and obscured.

SH: Hmm.

SI: Hmm indeed.

SH: Something tells me that this is connected to our game somehow!

SI: I have that same lurking suspicion.

SI: Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll never hear the end of it if I don't connect to Argo sometime soon. I bid you farewell for now.

SH: Talk to you later!

**sarcasmIncarnate **ceased pestering **spunkyHuntress.**

Richard observed the brown envelope that his copy of Sburb had arrived in sitting on his desk. It had arrived at his doorstep not to long ago. He had needed to retrieve it quickly so that that his annoying younger sibling wouldn't ask any questions. It had worked nicely, but there was still one more necessary preparation. A weapon of some kind.

**Richard: Allocate weapon to strife specibus.**

He had just the thing in mind.

He left his room and entered the long hallway of his Victorian-style home. Well, as Victorian as a wooden chateau could get.

He exited to the left and continued down the hallway, observing the bust of Edgar Allen Poe as he walked by. His mother had owned the horrid thing for as long as he could remember. Her reasons why where beyond Richard. He loved the guy's writings, but for some odd reason he couldn't stand to look at him.

At the end of the hallway, he opened the door into the master bedroom. Aside from essentials, his Mother stored a variety of artistry and décor in there. None of that interested him at the moment. He walked over to the combination safe next to the queen sized bed and bent down to enter the combination. He had known it for years, unknown to his parent.

Inside the safe were some bundles of cash, a scrap book filled with family photos, and a brass key. Richard captchalogued the key and closed the safe. His sylladex operated on a DICTIONARY Modus. He could take and store with ease as long as he could spell the object. K-E-Y, easy.

Richard left the bedroom and proceeded to the opposite end of the hallway and down some stairs. He entered the living room, where he noticed Joseph sound asleep on the couch. Soda cans were scattered on the floor and spilled on the table. The TV was tuned to some cartoon he didn't recognize.

He scowled. He made a mental note to scold Jo later.

He passed the dining room and kitchen and navigated his way to the home's basement. It was guarded by a heavy steel door with a small keyhole underneath the doorknob. He used the key to unlock the door and step into the family's armory.

Many lances, swords, and bows were scattered around the room. The Orpheus family had compiled quite a supply of weaponry over the years, but had never found a use for it. Richard's best guess was that his ancestors were big supporters of the right to bear arms.

He scanned the walls until he found a steel axe handing on the wall. He equipped it and allocated it to his strife specibus, creating an Axekind.

Richard was officially ready to play.


	3. Change of Plans

Richard returned to his room after another lengthy trek and a bad attempt to clean up the heathen's mess. He was surprised to see that SH was pestering him again.

_That didn't take long, _he thought. Had he really been away from the computer long enough to justify another conversation? He opened Pesterchum and answered it anyway.

**spunkyHuntress** began pestering **sarcasmIncarnate.**

SH: Richard, there's been a change of plans!

SI: Regarding our game session?

SH: Yes, it turns out Jason will be tied up for quite a while. We need to go ahead and start playing.

SH: You have your copy ready, correct?

SI: I do. In fact, I just allocated a weapon to my specibus. I'm ready to go.

SH: Excellent.

SH: I'll have a server connection going soon. Go ahead and install your client copy and connect to me whenever you're ready.

SI: Will do.

SI: But I must inquire, why hurry?

SH: I've been sensing omens connected to our session. If we waste all this time waiting on Jason, we'll be held back in the future.

SH: Remember, I have a sixth sense for these kinds of things.

SI: That's true.

SI: But you seem… Kind of different?

SH: How do you mean?

SI: I may be reading into it completely wrong, but you're coming off as more serious than usual.

SH: I am?

SI: Yes, it's not typical of you.

SH: Sorry about that!

SH: It's just not much of a joking issue, you know?

SI: Right, I guess it was just a misinterpretation.

SI: I'll start installing right away.

SH: Good! We're making progress!

**spunkyHuntress **ceased pestering **sarcasmIncarnate.**

**=Jason's Perspective=**

Light filtered into the room from the hole above him. Jason let out a groan.

He shifted around in the pile of rubble and managed to lean forward. He rubbed his forehead, tracing the outline of a new bruise.

_Well, that happened, _he thought.

After his eyes adjusted, Jason got a better look at his surroundings. He was one floor below his apartment in the maintenance room. Piping and air conditioners surrounded him. Some tools that had been neglected were scattered on the floor. To the right of where he had landed was a door, presumably leading into the apartment stairway.

He managed to get on his feet again and tried the door handle. Locked, unsurprisingly. He would have to devise some creative way to escape.

He captchalogued the lead pipe resting against the wall in the corner. He used it to break the door handle, kicking it open and successfully escaping into the stairwell.

_Worthy of Problem Sleuth, _thought Jason.

He reentered his apartment at the top of the staircase and checked the hallway. Nothing appeared to have been touched since he had left, so he assumed that his sister was still asleep. In retrospect, why had he been worried about sis before? She sleeps like a bear, and the fact that she had slept through all the commotion proved it.

Jason didn't ponder it before long. He stepped back into his room, still as messy as he'd left it.

_No more messing around, _he thought.

In Bro's traditional style, he was probably hiding the package away and they would have to duke it out. Not good for Jason, the less experienced fighter of the two.

He and his bro had a long history of competition. No matter what, Bro always seemed to be better than him. Video Games, Sports, you name it. Jason was tired of being second-best. This fight would finally decide who was the superior.

It was time to step out of that 21 year shadow and take the gold for himself.

Jason made a mental resolution that he would get that game from Bro no matter what.

He opened his closet and picked out a double edged sword from the small pile in the back. It was simple compared to the other blades he owned, but he could normally depend on it to get the job done. He had never taken it into real combat before, so this was first.

He equipped the sword, creating a Bladekind specibus. All of that experience playing The Legend of Zelda would pay off soon enough.

He noticed his iPhone resting on the nightstand next to his bed. He decided to captchalogue it in case he needed to use Pesterchum on the go.

Speaking of which, his phone immediately dinged with a notification. It seemed that SH had left him a message. He looked at the timestamp. 3 days ago? And he's just now receiving it? It only strengthened his curiosity. He opened the message.

**spunkyHuntress:**

Hi Jason! You're probably confused about why you're getting this message now since I sent it three days ago. In fact, I know you are. I purposefully delayed the delivery date so you would receive it now, before your battle. But that's not important! What you do need to know is that your older brother is an opponent you are ill-prepared for. Your experience levels are separated by a large margin, but you can still beat him! I've been using my sixth sense (you know, the one we talked about) to see into the near future and realized that this fight would play an important part in events to come. Your brother will be relentless. His blows are much stronger than yours, but you'll be fine as long as you stand your ground. Don't back down, because he'll take advantage of any weakness. He's totally serious about keeping your away from that game (for whatever reason). If you can survive long enough, he'll recognize you as a worthy opponent and concede. Just follow this advice and you'll be fine!

Jason was incredibly confused, but he wasn't one to turn down SH's help. He wondered why she was so worried about this battle's outcome, not that he wasn't. It's not like it was going to be some game-changing, crucial event.

Was it?


	4. The Huntress

**Enter Name: ALLISON ATALANTA**

**Pesterchum Handle: spunkyHuntress**

**Current Time: Thirty minutes in the past**

Steady… Steady…

Bull's-eye!

Allison's arrow pierced the crudely-drawn anime villain's face. It came to rest in the bark of the tree behind it. She didn't need a shooting range, she had the perfect place on the balcony outsider her cabin. She had made custom targets and attached them to the surrounding trees. She was the best archer she knew.

In fact, she was the _only_ archer she knew.

Allison wore a simple short sleeved, camo shirt with a skull representing her favorite anime, Bleach, on it. Her long brown hair whipped around every time she turned. She had attempted to pin her hair up in different ways, but none of them were affective. Her bright green eyes mirrored the light. Too bad there was no one around to see them.

She sat down in a chair on the balcony and stared into the forest. The scenery hadn't changed, but she was okay with that. There were never any major changes around there. Heck, she was in the middle of nowhere!

Allison lived in a vast forest, not exactly sure what state, but definitely in the US. Her cabin contained plenty of resources, appliances, and an internet connection thanks to her late mother. Why mom had died or how was unknown to her, but she had made sure that Allison would be prepared to survive on her own. She left behind a trusty companion in Anubis, her hunting dog, and a working Jeep in case Allison ever needed to find her way to civilization. Not that she had any idea how to drive.

Allison was a self-taught hunter and took pride in her skill. There weren't many sixteen year old girls that lived on their own and hunted for food. She guessed.

Her main source of entertainment was the internet. Over the past few years, she made five other friends despite never having met them in person. She was eager to play Sburb. Allison considered herself good at video games, but only played whatever she could download. She played with Jason online many weekend nights. It would be an understatement to say that they were "just internet friends."

Allison was pumped up to play. She had managed to download her copy days ago, now all she had to do was wait.

And wait.

Aaaaaand wait.

She had to occupy her time somehow, but what to do?

She spun around in her desk chair and let out a sigh of boredom. She scanned the living room of her cabin. Anubis was sleeping soundly on the couch. She decided not to wake him, he had been busy helping her hunt the past few days. He deserved whatever sleep he could get.

Her eyes glanced over her shelf of knickknacks. Music boxes, snow globes, and other various items lined it. Some of them were heirlooms from mom, others she had collected herself.

She stopped at the end of the shelf, then looked it over again in reverse. Her magic 8 ball! It was gone!

There was nothing particularly special about the ball, it worked just like any other. It held sentimental value to her because she had discovered her sixth sense while looking into it. Whether or not it had magical properties, she still couldn't figure out. Now it was gone, but where could it have possibly been?

She decided that this was an excellent time to use her sense to detect it's location. She cleared her mind and focused only on the future. Her power allowed her to predict the near future, with some limitations. She could not see consequences, but she could view events in her mind's eye. She had been able to do it for as long as she had owned the 8 ball. She had discussed the ability with a friend and determined that it was a unique form of psychic powers.

And she thought she couldn't get any cooler.

She could see the 8 ball in her mind: lodged between some stones next to a creek in the forest nearby. A short walk from her cabin. Everything else was shrouded from her view. She found that strange, since she could usually see more than just what she was focusing on. She ignored the feeling and got up from her chair.

She picked up her favorite long bow off the mantle and a quiver of arrows. She equipped it to her Bowkind specibus. You never now when it might come in handy!

She walked out onto the balcony and took the rope ladder down. She touched the forest floor and began walking into the trees. Even though it was the middle of the day, sunlight barely managed to filter through the overhead brush. Allison had explored the forest many times and it was rarely this dark. All of these signs said to turn back, but she continued working her way through the trees.

As she walked, she reflected on her recent dreams. The golden room she awoke in for the past nights was almost the same as her cabin, but much better. Everything was shiny, new and smooth. Whenever she looked out the window, she could see the golden city below her. The solid-white inhabitants wandered around below her tower. They waved to her every now and then, and she walkways waved back. Sometimes she managed to leave the balcony and float through the atmosphere. The rest of the city was just as grandiose and beautiful as her residence. She always felt happy while sailing across the planet's surface.

Discussing these experiences with Richard had relieved her stress somewhat, but she still felt like she needed to talk to another person about them. She knew these dreams were somehow connected to Sburb, but she couldn't quite pinpoint how.

She broke out of her thinking trance soon enough to realize that she was at the creek. She searched for the 8 ball and found it exactly where her divination had shown. She picked it up and used her shirt to wipe off the dirt. How had it gotten out here? Had she taken it on a hunting trip and dropped it? She pondered these questions for a moment, but decided the cabin was a better place figure out-

WHOA

**Allison: Respond to commands**

It seems that Allison is unreachable at the moment, and will be for quite a while.

**Author Note: Thanks for reading! The action will begin building soon. I'm trying to get through the Pre-Medium Entry arc of the story quickly, so please bear with me for three or four more chapters.**


	5. The Inventor

**=Be Richard again.**

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing, Allison," Richard muttered.

Without his consent, Allison had already deployed the punch designex and the totem lathe in his room at the price of one bookcase, much to his chagrin. The precious treasure trove of literature was now lying face down in the mud outside his window. If playing this game meant sacrificing his furniture, he was less than happy to oblige.

Allison had decided to cease communications with him for the time being. He might as well be playing blind. All he knew was that she had opened something called the Cruxtruder and he had to "prototype" something fast. Whatever that meant. Seeing from his client program that the timer at 5:00, he fled the room and immediately began climbing downstairs.

_Find something inanimate she says, that should be easy_ he thought.

He broke away from his thoughts at the bottom of the steps. Not far from him was Joseph, fully awake and blocking his path. His eyes were wide open and his pupils were dilated. His dark brown hair was in a complete mess and his head twitched slightly. His clothes were covered in sugar and dried soda. A wide smile was crawled across his face.

"Heeyyy big bro," he jested. "Watcha doin'?!"

"Oh, god" choked Richard.

"Playin' a game?!" His tone slowly rose, as if insane. "I _LOVE _GAMES!"

"Tell me this isn't happening." Richard slowly began to back up. "_Please _tell me this is not happening right now."

"I WANNA PLAY, TOO!"

Richard reached out in an attempt to calm him. "Joseph, you're on a sugar high. Why don't you lay down and sleep? I'll even fix you something to eat. Just give me a few minutes-"

"NAH, BRO," he shouted, slapping Richard's hands away, "_I WANNA PLAY A GAME!"_

Richard readied his strife specibus. He knew what would happen next if he let this continue.

"I had hoped it wouldn't have to come to this…"

**Enter Name: HERCULE EURSYTHES**

**Pesterchum Handle: paradoxStrongman**

Hercule moved towards the window and opened the curtains partially, peering out the window. Light flooded into the dark apartment room as he stared down on the busy city streets of New York. He closed them again, returning to the dark.

_It's afternoon and they have yet to contact me, _he thought.

The strapping young fellow walked back towards his work bench, careful not to trip over the weights piled on the floor. He observed his most recent creation- the Clockstopper Watch, his finest piece of work yet. He had made it with his friend, Jason Argo, in mind. He knew that Jason would be needing it soon if upcoming events were to be corrected.

Hercule ran his hand through his long, red hair, feeling the beads of sweat. A small and warm apartment such as his did not make the ideal workshop. He often wore sleeveless shirts to fight the heat in the tiny living space. He spoke with a slight British accent, picked up from his parents.

His parents were often off on business trips, leaving him alone throughout most of the summer. Being sixteen, they considered him old enough to carry his own weight without their constant supervision. They provided him with enough money for groceries, supplies, and anything else he would need to entertain himself while they were gone. The one thing they couldn't do was rent a better apartment.

Ever since he was a child, Hercule was considered unusual for two reasons. The first was obvious: he had red irises. He often wore sunglasses in public, but took them off as soon as he was in private. One of the main reasons he was friends with Jason was because they shared similar issues. Orange eyes were almost as strange as red ones.

The second was more secretive. He had the uncanny ability to predict ominous events. Among his group of friends, there were two others with similar powers. When he was with them, he didn't feel weird or strange. Which was the main reason why they were such good pals.

Well, except for one.

His powers had once again revealed the future in sparing detail to him: the course of events in the future would be disrupted by a person cloaked in darkness. Someone working from the shadows to purposefully derail their session of Sburb. Being a genius when it came to machinery, Hercule had used his ingenuity and extensive knowledge of science fiction to create a device that could slow down time to the point of near freezing.

Jason would need it.

Hercule had been using the viewport on his PC, another one of his inventions, to monitor Jason's movements from afar. It was about time to sendificate the watch and the dimensional windows. He pulled the Sendificator out of his sylladex and began preparing to- WHOA

A person cloaked in darkness appeared behind him and got his attention by throwing him away from the work bench. Hercule landed in a pile of dirty clothes on his back. He was dazed for a moment, but managed to get back on his feet. His attacker was facing him, but the lighting in the room and the dark aura surrounding them obscured his view. All he could make out was a female-figure. At least, he was pretty sure it was female.

"_So this is the Heir of Doom _before _they began playing," _she crooned. She emphasized her H's and O's like a snake would an S. It was a strange accent, but Hercule managed to make it out.

Hercule rubbed his head, stroking it where he had hit the ground. "I hate to be rude," he said, "but who are you and how did you get in here?"

"_Worry not," _she mused. _"You shall know… Eventually."_

"That's… Kind of an unspecific answer…"

"_You and you're meddling, I should kill you here and now." _

"Wait, what?!"

The tone in her voice became more threatening. She began moving toward him, but stopped. She continued to speak with menace, as if Hercule had somehow wronged her.

"_But doing so would disrupt your quest. There must be six, after all."_

He was terribly confused. "What are you going on about? What quest?"

"_I see," _she sneered, _"this is a point in time where you have no idea about events to come."_

"Events to come? You mean Sburb? I agreed to play it with my friends, but I don't know what that has to do with you!"

"_IT HAS _EVERYTHING _TO DO WITH ME, FOOL." _Her tone flared up. She spoke with obvious anger. _"YOU AND YOUR 'FRIENDS' WILL EVENTUALLY RUIN MY DESIGNS… But I won't punish you _yet."

She backed into the darkness, slowly absorbing her once again.

"_You're infuriating meddling will eventually be useful to me. I'll be keeping a close eye on you, Heir."_

Her presence vanished from the room and Hercule was alone once again. It took him a moment to fathom what had just happened, but he managed to shake off the sense of dread. He readied his Sendificator and placed the watch inside the slot with a note attached. Here goes nothing…

**=Jason's Perspective=**

Feeling he was ready, Jason was about to step out of the room when a flash of light on his desk suddenly blinded him. A metal watch and a note resting under it lied there. He picked up the watch and studied it for a moment, then read the note.

Greetings, Jason!

Greetings, Jason! I realize that this is an unconventional method of contacting you, but our current situation is dire. You are familiar with the game SBURB, correct? It would seem that there are forces at work trying to sabotage our session. As you read this, Richard is already attempting to enter the game with the help of some mysterious figure who desires our downfall. I know this by watching through my viewport at home, so I'm up to date. This watch has the ability to freeze time for up to one hour. I've sent a dimensional window to Richard's home and to yours, which should be arriving while you are reading. The idea is to use this portal to warp to his house, freeze time, them warp back and set up a client connection at your house. I will act as your server player so that you can enter the game world first. This means Richard will eventually have to act as my server. Don't worry, through working together, we will make sure the game works correctly!

To recap, you will have to freeze time in Richard's session, warp back home, face your brother, secure your copy of SBURB, begin playing and enter the game world, then proceed from there. Note that this must all take place within the hour. I will be watching via viewport, so don't hesitate to message me for help. Good luck!

Jason put the note down and smiled. Hercule, that tinkering genius. He'd actually made a watch that could freeze time! He was convinced that Hercule was rising on his list of awesome people.

Jason fastened the watch to his arm. The cold metal on his wrist took a moment to adjust to. When he finished, a dimensional window appeared on the floor of his room.

Void jumping, anyone?


	6. Interlude: The Seer

**Interlude: Seer of Space**

**=THREE SWEEPS AGO=**

Rikta gazed into the night sky from her perch on top of a moss-covered stone column. The sturdy stone had once held the roof of a temple, but had long collapsed. She had discovered this through investigation, but at the moment she really didn't care.

What she was really interested in were the stars.

Rikta had always had a fascination with stars, unlike most trolls her age. Others were concerned with what was happening on the ground, but she was different. Being of cerulean blood, she was supposed to live up to higher standards.

Highbloods had told her to act according to her class.

Lowbloods feared crossing her, even if she bore no ill intent.

She fingered the a woven bracelet given to her by a friend. The markings in the weaving formed ancient runes, symbols of power meant to protect Rikta. Even though her friend's intentions were sweet, Rikta blew them off as superstition.

Then she and eight others began playing Sgrub.

She was wrong.

Little did she know that magic and legend came to life in this game. Runes wer her ally while playing. She carved them on any weapons she could find, enhancing their powers and aiding her up to this point. With such great power, she was able to sit quietly like this and enjoy the Land of Stars and Ruin's sky.

She felt the cool breeze pass by her. Trees were scarce, so there was barely anything to stop the wind from rolling over her shoulders. She shivered a little. She put her hand over the tear in her shirt sleeve to warm exposed skin. The Orange stripe and intersecting blue X had been torn right down the middle due to a close encounter with a sword.

She refocused on the stars. She could see Skaia in the distance, as well as Prospit nearby. Even though they were out of her immediate vision, she could use her space powers and mind's eye to see the other eight planets in this particular Incisphere.

She was finally beginning to understand her role as Seer of Space. She was to create a new universe. But to her, it was ultimately pointless. How was she supposed to use something from a barren planet to create new life? Her co-players were uncooperative on the matter, believing it was her issue and hers alone.

She let out a deep sigh and continued staring into Space.

Her purpose here eluded her.

But she sensed a feeling of need, longing, even purpose in a universe far away.

To prevent a cataclysm that would put all existence at stake. A catastrophe that would originate from one, destructive mind that she had to stop before it was too late.

**A/N: Just a short interlude to peak your curiosity about a character we'll hear more from later. If I do not update again this week, I will be away from home July 14-20. Sorry for the blackout!**


	7. Time Shenanigans

The dimensional window was a six-by-five foot metal rectangle with one large section and four smaller windows. Jason equipped his sword and smashed the large window. Some shards of glass flew past him, others fell into the void. He looked down. He could see a faint light at the other end.

He made sure he had his phone on him, then jumped feet first into it.

He sailed through the empty space. It didn't look like he would be getting there soon. Oh well, time to kill. He pulled out his phone and opened Pesterchum.

**immortalSwordsman** began pestering **paradoxStrongman**

IS: Hey Herc

IS: You can see all our friends through your viewport thing, right?

PS: Hello Jason!

PS: And you're correct, I can.

PS: (By the way, the DWs are still prototypes, so travel won't be instantaneous)

IS: Can you fill me in on everyone's status?

PS: No problem.

PS: Richard is at home and he is still in the beginning stages of the game. He appears to be in some sort of conflict with his younger brother. From what I can tell, his server player is Allison.

PS: I am alone at home, currently on my desktop. You and I both are possibly under the surveillance of our enemy/enemies.

PS: Allison's viewport is completely black. Something is interfering with my connection to her.

PS: Our other two comrades don't appear to be doing anything at the moment, but we will need their help soon.

IS: Thanks Hercule

IS: For more than just the report.

IS: I think I'm finally beginning to understand my responsibilities as the impromptu team leader.

IS: I'm like the superhero and you're my gadget making sidekick, covering my blind spots.

PS: Thanks, I suppose. You'll need as much help as you can get if you're going to win.

IS: I have a feeling that this is gonna be one hell of a game!

**immortalSwordsman** ceased pestering **paradoxStrongman**

By the time he got off the phone, he was much closer to the light at the bottom. Once he came into contact with the light, he flew feet first into the air, hitting a ceiling and landing hard on the floor

He began to ache terribly after making coming to a stop. What had he hit? The floor was metal. What kind of room was this?

He regained his senses and realized that melee weapons of all kinds lined the walls. He was in some kind of armory. He knew that Richard came from a wealthy family, but had apparently neglected to mention that he owned enough weapons to supply a small army.

Jason remembered that he didn't have time to admire the antiques. He approached the metal door and used his sword to slice through the steel.

Wait…

What?

Oh, you didn't know? Surely you didn't think Jason did nothing in his spare time. Pre-game experience grinding took up the majority of our Hero's hours before this narrative began. His current rung on the Echeladder was **HERO OUT OF THE WOODS**, an appropriate level for that point in time.

So there. That's your explanation.

Anyway, he climbed up the stairs and found himself in a dreary hallway. The interior design was dark, but that wasn't what he was focusing on. Trash was littered all over the floor. Stains were all across the carpet and walls. Jason seriously wondered what had been going on there.

He stepped around the empty bags of chips and soda cans. He saw light and heard something like shouting up ahead. He looked around a corner to see Richard and what he guessed was his brother in some kind of fight. Richard had an axe at the ready, while the other was holding a baseball bat idly.

_Sorry, but it's time to break this up, _thought Jason.

Jason readied the watch. He pressed a button on the side and the two combatants froze mid-lunge. Fortunately, Jason was still able to move. He stared in amazement for a moment, then shook it off and ran back the way he came, quickly jumping into the void once again. He only had an hour in real-time to pull this off.

As you travel through the void, you once again receive a message. Who is it this time?

**(ERROR) s9UnKKyHunntr355 (ERROR)**aBEGAN PESTERING**ortalSwordsman**

ERROR: **WH2122434230598 5423432980 234092734109######$354234213**

IS: Uh

ERROR: **WHAT HAVE YOU DONE**

IS: Is this supposed to be Allison?

ERROR: Who do you think, ARGO?!

IS: Allison would never act this way

IS: This has to be the person screwing up our game!

ERROR: GOOD JOB SHERLOCK

ERROR: YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES OF WHAT Y0U'VE D0N3

ERROR: Y0U W1LL R3GR3T 324145EVER H4V1111NG 2313204CROSSED011100 ME

**(CORRUPT FILE) **ceased pestering **immortalSwordsman**

**=[ERROR]1223412398474353425123091751123[ERROR]=**

Th15 W4S th3 F1N4L STR4W. eVEN 1F IT does ALTER THE31204324 TIMELINE, sHE MUST EXACT hER 1234982134revenGE ON 4RG0. sHE USED her WELL earNEd TECHNOPATH powerS To WRITe A dEVESTATING35PREGAMEPROGRAME THAT WOUOLD KILL THE PLAYERS' SPRITES324132587

~ATH(THIS) {SPRITES}

/ ADDITIONAL GRAVES...

} EXECUTE(NULL);

.DIE;}

4ND F1N4LY, 0N3 234LAST214832340 M0D1111F11C444TION124309417324098...

~OPEN(THIS) {RIFT}

/ TIME/SPACE

} EXECUTE(SESSION)

01110001010001000010101010111010101010101001010110 10001010100011111010100110101010101110101010111010 10101101010101010101010101010011100010100010000101 01010111010101010101001010110100010101000111110101 00110101010101110101010111010101011010101010101010 10101010101010101111010

**=CORRUPTED FILE: CAN NO LONGER PLAY AS [ERROR]=**


	8. The Sorceress

**Hercule: Contact our less-than-delightful ally.**

Wait, what?! That couldn't have possibly meant _her_! Hercule's arch-nemesis! She would be bound to ruin this session before it began!

Unfortunately, he had to weigh his options. Their sixth and shadiest (although more cooperative) friend was missing in action, so there was no one else to turn to. Not to mention TS's help would be much more beneficial in the long run.

He let out a sigh of defeat. Fine, fine, he would get on it.

**paradoxStrongman **began pestering **tentativeSorceress**

PS: Colombia.

TS: Eursythes.

TS: Come for another argument, or did you actually need something?

PS: Let's skip the normal bull-crap, shall we?

PS: I need to ask you for a... favor.

TS: Mark this moment in history.

TS: The great Hercule Eursythes, who claims to know so much more than I do, has stooped so low as to ask me for a FAVOR?

PS: Go ahead, rub it in. Get it over with so we can get this show on the road.

TS: This is one for the record books!

TS: In fact, I'm going to write it down in my "Volume of Social Victories."

TS: Give me a minute

TS: Okay, done. What did you need, asshat? Ask nicely and I might even consider it.

PS: It's regarding our session of Sburb.

TS: Oh, the stupid game that GR convinced me to play.

PS: We're in a sort of predicament that requires your talents.

TS: Why don't you ask that giddy otaku girl for help? You know, the one who DOESN'T hate your guts?

PS: She's unavailable at the moment.

PS: And for the record, she is not "giddy".

TS: Whatever.

PS: It would seem someone is manipulating our session from the shadows, attempting to throw us off track before we even begin playing.

PS: Jason doesn't have much time left before he comes into direct contact with this person, or whatever he/she intends to throw at us.

TS: You mean Jason's in danger?

PS: Not just him, all six of us if we don't do something about it.

TS: But Jason more so than the rest of us?

PS: I suppose? Our enemy seems to have some kind of extreme grudge against him and I.

TS: You can burn for all I care, but Jason needs to live.

PS: Um... Okay.

PS: I never understood why you care about him so much and dread talking to the rest of us.

TS: He, uh, is our game's leader after all. Right?

PS: It's just unnatural for you to care about the well being of another human.

TS: Shut up and drop the subject, Hercule.

TS: You DO want me to help, right?

PS: I need you to use your powers and find out more about this mysterious villain. Possibly learn his/her objective. Interfere, if capable.

TS: I'll see what I can do.

PS: You're being surprisingly cooperative. Sherlock is on the case, I suppose.

TS: Don't bring Richard into this.

PS: ...?

TS: That was a joke, dimwit.

**tentativeSorceress **disconnected from **paradoxStrongman**

**Enter Name: MEDEA COLOMBIA**

Medea leaned back in her chair and chuckled a little. That idiot thought he was so smart when in reality he lacked common sense. It amazed her how anyone can be so intelligent and so stupid at the same time. She made it a goal to insult him at least once a day.

Who could blame her? Being rude was just part of her nature. Her snide comments were on a different level than Richard's. She actually meant most of what she said, and did she have a stinging tongue.

She viewed her so-called "friends" more as "people she had to put up with." She wouldn't know any of them if it weren't for GR. When Medea thought about it, GR was really her only "friend." She felt much calmer and prone to express her feelings when talking to him.

Of course, then there was also Jason. She harbored the slightest romantic affection for him, but wouldn't dare tell anyone for sake of her reputation.

But enough reflecting on her lifestyle. She got out of her chair and dusted off her clothes. Her shirt portrayed a large yellow circle with another solid circle inside it, or the "Golden Eye," as she called it. Her long black hair fell down in ringlets when she stood up. She had neglected to comb or brush it, eventually adopting curly hair as her style.

Her room was in complete shambles. Papers and books were scattered everywhere. Bed sheets were bundled together or completely torn from the bed. The walls of her room were a bland mustard yellow. Besides the essentials, most of it was barren except for a broken clock stuck on 4:13 and a messy bookshelf.

She picked up and dusted off an old leather tome lying next to her bed. The title was written in an ancient language preserved by the Colombia family. Only she could read its contents. It was full of destruction spells perfectly suited for her combat style. She allocated the book to her strife specibus, creating a TOMEKIND.

She reached under her bed and found another tome. It, too, would come in handy later, for a much different purpose. Its dark blue cover had three rips stretching across it, but the book itself wasn't damaged. She captchalogued it in her sylladex, which worked on a SORCERY Modus. Items could only be removed through the invocation of spells, preventing non-magic folk from every possibly stealing.

That book... She had decided long ago that it was tied to her destiny. Playing Sburb might actually help her achieve her ultimate goal, but it was a long shot.

But enough daydreaming. She opened the door to her room and stepped into the living room of her small beach house. She had decorated it with multi-colored rugs, sheets, and furniture of all kinds, most of which originated from a garage sale. It was a bright contrast to her room. Normal people would question her taste, but she found it easier to practice magic in a setting with vibrant color.

In the center of the circular room was a small table on which a clear, glass sphere sat on an iron stand. It was her seeing orb, or at least that's what she liked to call it. Through it, she could harness her special psychic talents to investigate the mind of whoever she chose.

Like Allison, Medea had been born with psychic powers. Hers were of a different sort, being honed through much self-training as an Sorceress. She stared deeply into the ball, focusing her powers on a person cloaked by darkness. It was faint, but she could sense her life force somewhere.

Yes, Medea was sure this time. It was a she. And she could almost make out a name... Stratus?

In her mind's eye, a black void appeared before her. Wisps of smoke and ash rose to meet her face as she looked down. she plunged into the abyss, hoping that answers lay at the bottom.

**=Land of Golems and Magma=**

Medea landed on a rocky platform in the center of a lava lake. Rocky mountains formed the skyline off in the distance, but the darkness of night caused them to look like simple gray shapes. The lake was dotted with other rocks similar to the one she stood on. Columns of flame occasionally rose spouted from the lake and died down almost as quickly. She could see massive forms off in the distance that were human in shape, but jagged and cylindrical. Some of them were as big as mountains, others looked to be only about five or six feet taller than she.

On reflex, Medea wiped her brow. She then realized that she wasn't sweating, nor did she feel hot. She realized that this was probably due to the fact that she wasn't physically standing there. Wherever "there" was.

A silhouette began to descend slowly. it was cloaked in shadows, but there was enough light to make out her face and clothes. She had silky brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. She had brown eyes and sharp facial features. She wore brown and red robes with two long drapes that nearly touched the ground, splitting at the chest and forming an upside down "v." She stared at Medea for a moment, then spoke.

_"Witch. Why are you here?"_

"Just thought I'd pay you a visit," she replied with a sarcastic smile.

_"I don't know how you managed to get to this place even after what your little fallout with your 'friends,' but I won't allow you to stay."_

Wisps of fire began to build up in her hand, then took the form of a staff. The shaft was made of silver with a golden mount built in the shape of an arch on top. A pure crystal sphere sat in the very center, suspended by some kind of magic.

The girl lunged at Medea and attempted to swat her with the staff. She plunged through her image instead, confused that her weapon hadn't landed a blow.

"I'm a projection," Medea sneered. "You can't touch me because I'm not actually there."

The girl composed herself and turned to face her again. _"Hmph. You always were the most cunning of your group."_

"And I have a feeling you know more about me than you let on, Stratus."

_"Interesting, you rarely refer to me by my _last _name, Medea."_

She was suddenly confused. Had Medea met this Stratus girl before? She had only managed to discover that name by probing her mind, but this was a new development.

"What do you mean?" Medea jeered. "When have I ever used your first name, assuming you have one?!"

A look of amusement spread across Stratus' face. _"Ohhh, I get it, this is a point in time where you know barely anything about me or my goals. Thanks for tipping me off, I could have really messed up your future. In any case, IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO LEAVE."_

Stratus raised her arm and Medea ascended rapidly back through the same void from which she came. In an instant, she was back in her own head. She paused for a moment to process everything that had just happened, then went back to her room and began to pester Hercule again.

**tentativeSorceress **began pestering **paradoxStrongman**

TS: Hey smartass, you there?

TS: I found out more about that person you wanted me to investigate.

TS: I didn't uncover much. She had some pretty good mental barriers set up to keep stuff like that from happening.

TS: I went to some place filled with lava and what looked like giant people, but I couldn't tell. I saw the person you described.

TS: I discovered some basic information by probing without her knowledge. A name and a title. Stratus. I think that's a last name, but she was clinging to some kind of title. "Sylph of Blood," whatever that means.

TS: And as far as her motives, I saw no definite plans in her mind that I could pick apart from the rest.

TS: Only chaos.

TS: And on that happy note, I'll leave you to whatever's so important at the moment.

**tentativeSorceress **ceased pestering **paradoxStrongman**


	9. Our Sleeping Ally

**Richard: Dream**

His eyes opened suddenly and he breathed in. He leaned up and realized that he was in bed. Purple robes and a dark-violet copy of his room. He was in his dream-state again, or whatever it was.

He got out of bed and leaned out the window. The dark kingdom and it's solid black inhabitants were still there. No surprise. When would he ever figure out what this place was?

He shifted his arms and attempted to lean on the windowsill. His elbow missed its perch and he began to fall out of the window. For a moment, he felt a sudden rush of adrenaline as he fell, then suddenly stopped. He opened his eyes and realized he was floating in midair.

_This is new, _he thought. He'd never known he could fly while he was like this. He rotated back to standing position and floated a bit higher in an attempt to get a better look around.

When he was at the top of his tower, he landed on the roof and held the pole to brace himself.

_My silly fear of falling, _he thought, _now that I can fly and all. _

He scanned the horizon and realized that his planet was chained to a much bigger planet. On the smaller one were two other towers, identical in size and shape to Richard's.

He felt a tap on the shoulder.

"Boo," something whispered.

Richard yelled and fell off the tour in surprise, only to float in the air. He turned to see his assailant was a boy with bright brown hair and gray eyes keeling over in laughter. He was dressed in purple robes, just like Richard.

"God, don't scare me like that!" Richard shouted.

"Sorry, sorry, I just couldn't help myself," the boy managed in between laughter. "I tend to scare people on a whim."

Richard grimaced. "Who are you anyway?"

He finally composed himself, but still had a wide smile on his face. "Sorry, I thought you knew! It's me, GR! You know, (ERROR)?"

Richard's anger faded. "Oh, right. We just haven't met in person, so I assumed you were... Someone else." He folded his arms.

"But anyway, why did "error" appear when you said your name?"

"I think it has something to do with secrets that don't need to be revealed yet. You can just refer to me as GR, for now."

"Fine, I guess." Richard studied him for a moment. His impression of him through Pesterchum conversations was that he was a laidback prankster, the kind of person who liked to have fun. It was pretty much spot on, seeing him in person. "Where are we anyway?" he asked.

"Oh, I guess this is your first time out of your tower, isn't it? The people here don't seem to like it when we fly around like this. But anyway, this is Derse. It's one of two moons orbiting the central planet of our game, Skaia. The other is Prospit. Whenever our real selves go to sleep, we wake up here. Or three of us do, at least."

Richard motioned for him to stop. "Whoa, whoa, this is Sburb?"

"Well, not quite," GR said. He put his hand up to his chin like he was thinking. "While Skaia and its moons exist within Sburb's universe, you haven't technically entered the game yet."

"Wasn't I about to do that? The last thing I remember was being in my house and talking to Joseph..."

"You might've fallen asleep or unconscious. If you've already started playing, that means you're close to entering the game world itself."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I've managed to learn a lot by exploring here. And talking with Medea. It's like I have some kind of dormant powers that allow me to see and learn a lot whenever I'm asleep."

"That would explain why our group hasn't been able to contact you for a while. You've been asleep, dumb-ass."

He laughed. "Those aren't the only things I learned. Your part of the game has been rigged."

"What do you mean?"

" I mean that someone has been controlling your server up to this point and purposefully urging you to enter the game before Jason. She intends to screw up our timeline somehow. And she's using Allison to do it."

"You mean she has some kind of control over Allison?"

"Right. She's been using her to manipulate past events. And when I say past, I mean it from her past and our present. Allison is our session's Rogue of Time, and this future villain has somehow brainwashed future Allison and caused her to run amuck at this point in time. It's important that you don't enter the Medium immediately and that Jason does."

Richard clenched his fist. "That conniving wench," he muttered, "and to think I went along with this totally unaware."

"It's fine, there's no way you could've known. Meanwhile, Jason is struggling to enter the game, Hercule is assisting him, you're here, Medea is investigating our foe, and I've been trapped in perpetual sleep somehow."

"Is there a way we can wake you up when I'm awake?"

"I don't know that much yet. Right now, you need to focus on doing what you can to help."

"What is my 'real self' doing right now?"

"Let me look," GR said. He closed his eyes, raised his hands to his head, and pressed his fingers against his temples. He was silent for a moment.

"...What are you doing?" Richard asked.

"I'm using my sleep powers," he chided, then lowered his finger to his mouth saying "Sshhhh!"

It continued for a few seconds, then GR opened his eyes again.

"I see," he said. "You're not actually asleep. You're frozen in time, and your dream self is taking over for the moment. It seem like once whatever that's stopping you wears off, you need to prototype your sprite as quickly as possible. Is there something you can think of?"

One particularly drab statue came to Richard's mind...

**=Jason's Perspective=**

Jason took the same route he had before to get to his bro's room, except this time he was wary of the gigantic hole in the floor and the ceiling. He would have to fix that somehow later. He climbed up the stairs once again, although with not as much anticipation that time, to try and find the senior Argo.

He flung the door open and drew his sword, prepared for any barrage of attacks that might have flown at him as soon as he entered. To his surprise, nothing happened. It seemed like Bro was looking for a clean fight.

His room was in shambles, most likely due to the explosive that Jason so gracefully detonated. A fallen bookcase revealed a ladder that Jason hadn't seen before. A note was taped to it. Jason stepped over the wreckage and took the piece of paper.

_Little Bro,_

_It's time. You and me. On the roof. Your game is being held hostage._

Jason crumpled the note. His older brother was a man of few words, but the point was clear. The battle of bros was about to be underway.


	10. First Boss

Jason: Strife!

Time for the first boss battle.

Jason grabbed the first rung on the ladder and began to climb. He saw a handle and a sliding hatch on the ceiling he had never noticed before, grabbed it, and slid it back. He could see another hatch at the top. A semi-circle of light hit his face. He continued to climb and opened the second hatch, climbing out onto the roof.

The wind instantly greeted him, blowing gently past his face. The sky was a bright shade of orange as the sun slowly began to set on the horizon. The ever-bustling city of San Francisco loomed in the distance. Closer to his apartment complex was a small forest and other residential buildings.

The roof of the building was flat and clear except for a single water tower and a couple of large air conditioning units next to it. Jason did a complete 360 but didn't see the tall figure of his brother anywhere...

That's when he looked up.

A hunched shadow sat motionless on top of the water tower, outlined by the dying orange. It stood up, then leaped down onto the rooftop with a resounding "thud." Bro's sunglasses shined for a moment as his eyes moved to meet Jason's. He wore his favorite shirt from the nineties, gray cotton with a large TH slanted at an angle to represent Tony Hawk. His blond hair was unkempt and stuck out at subtle angles, as it always looked near the end of the day.

A brown envelope stuck out of his back pocket, barely visible to Jason's eyes. He smiled, hinting at the smallest evil behind his flawless expression.

"Hey, little bro," he jeered. "What's up?"

"Cut the crap, Xavier. We both know what I'm here for." Jason raised his sword and pointed at the envelope. He shifted the hilt slightly in his hand. His words were filled with false-confidence.

"Oooh, someone's serious. You must really be itching for a fight."

"I'm not ITCHING for anything!" Jason growled, "I just want what's mine back."

He lunged at Bro in an attempt to grab the envelope, but he dodged quickly and jumped backwards.

"Sorry, but I just can't do that," he chided. "I've had this feeling for a while that I shouldn't let you play this. At least not right now. Sort of like a voice in the back of my head telling me to _teach little punks a lesson._"

In that instant, Jason could've sworn he saw a flash of dark red light behind Bro's sunglasses. Xavier had _blue _eyes.

"That _witch_," Jason murmured. "She's gotten to you too, hasn't she?!"

Bro shrugged his shoulders and smiled again. "I have no idea what you're talking about. All I know is that I can't let you play this game."

In that instant, Jason unleashed all of his anger towards his brother in one sword swing. He'd spent years knowing that he would always be second best. He could never win. No matter how hard he tried, Xavier was always miles ahead of him. He'd laughed and played it off.

But no more.

Jason's sword connected with Xavier's. He'd drawn his own before Jason could realize it. They both jumped back and swung again, successfully blocking once more. He circled around in an attempt to hit Bro's back, but he made a vertical block just in time, then quickly parrying and knocking Jason off his feet.

He wheeled around and sliced downwards. Jason's reflexes saved him as he managed to lift his blade just in time. Bro grabbed the hilt of his sword with both hands and tried to drive it in with full strength, but Jason rolled over and dodged.

He got back on his feet and made some distance between him and Xavier.

"You could have killed me!" Jason yelled.

"_YOUR POINT?" _he said. His voice was overshadowed by a much darker one and the red light reappeared in his eyes.

Xavier darted at him, almost too quick to see, and thrust the blade towards him. Jason had barely enough time to block. The force of the attack caused Jason's sword to break in two.

_Damn it, cheap piece of crap! _he thought. He found himself holding a hilt and ten inches of a blade. He threw it at Xavier, only to be harmlessly deflected. Bro approached slowly, sword at the ready.

In that moment, Jason felt for the first time, complete and honest fear. He would be killed at the hands of a brainwashed sibling. No one would ever believe it. Xavier removed his shades and red eyes stared back at him.

_"Time to die, little bro," _he laughed.

A sudden flash of light blinded Xavier, but Jason blocked his eyes just in time, He looked underneath and a long, shining steel sword was stuck in the ground in between them.

_Thanks, Herc, _thought Jason.

He jumped up and grabbed the hilt of the blade with both hands and pulled it out. The blade was too heavy to hold with one hand. A Claymore. It had a brown hilt wrapped in leather. The blade ended in a point and a closed "V" near his hands.

He realized that he was still fighting, and readied the claymore. Xavier was still fighting off blindness. He looked up at Jason with fury in his eyes. He grabbed his sword off the ground and attempted another lunge, but...

**=Medea's Perspective=**

Jason was in trouble. That was all she could sense. It had something to do with Stratus, that was for sure.

Medea woke up startled. She had been sleeping, but she could still sense events that were happening miles away. She felt like she was beginning to drift into some kind of consciousness in a bright purple space, but it was dispelled as soon as she awoke.

She got up quickly and rushed into her living room. She felt like she had to do _something_. She looked into the glass sphere once again, trying to enter the mysterious woman's mind. If she harmed Jason, she would pay tenfold.

She latched on to whatever strands of mind linked to her that Medea could find, and scrambled them. Without mercy, she would make this person go insane and loose whatever grip over reality she had.

**=Jason's Perspective=**

...Suddenly, Xavier started clutching his head and crying out in pain. It was like he was having a massive headache right in the middle of a battle. Jason took the opportunity as quickly as possible.

He ran over to Xavier and knocked the sword out of his hands. He kicked it off the roof and it plummeted three stories, wedging itself in the grass below. Jason turned back to Bro, still writhing in agony. He turned the Claymore over in his hand to where the flat of the blade faced him. He hit him on the back with full force while he wasn't looking, successfully knocking him out.

Jason stood there for a second. He had somehow managed to win. He held his blade up in victory and a smile cracked across his face. With some help from friends, but still, he'd managed to win!

_After all this time, I still have to depend on someone to help me, _he thought. _But I guess that's what friends are for._

He picked up Bro's limp body and pushed him through the hole back down the ladder. Once they were both in his room again, he laid Bro on his bed to let him sleep. Jason was fairly confident that whatever had brainwashed Xavier had lost its grip on him.

Jason's phone began to buzz. Was Hercule congratulating him? He unlocked it and answered.

**astralProjection** began trolling **immortalSwordsman**

AP: C0ngratulat10ns, b0y.

IS: Uh... Do I know you?

AP: N0, but th1s 1s an excellent 0ppurtun1ty to talk to you.

AP: 1'm n0t qu1te ready t0 reveal my real name to you, but let's just say 1've taken 1nterst 1n y0u and y0ur friends.

IS: You... Aren't in line with our enemy, are you?

AP: N0t at all.

AP: In fact, I w0uld l1ke t0 help y0u defeat sa1d pers0n.

AP: 0ne thing y0u sh0uld kn0w ab0ut her: d0n't trust her under any c1rcumstance. She 1s the emb0diment 0f cha0s 1n your sess10n. She will bring 0nly destruct10n and hav0c.

IS: You know this how?

AP: Y0u're just full 0f quest10ns, aren't y0u?

AP: Because 1've seen y0ur future.

AP: Have y0u n0t sensed th1s y0urself when y0u talked t0 her?

IS: I did, but I'm not completely sure I trust you either.

IS: I mean, why help us? And you've seen my future? Sounds pretty far fetched to me.

AP: 1 have my 0wn reasons.

AP: 1'm just n0t ready t0 share them.

AP: 1n the meantime, just heed my advice. 1'll be here if you ever need my help.

AP: N0w, 1 bel1eve y0u have a sess10n t0 start?

IS: Right... Talk to you later, I guess.

**astralProjection **ceased trolling **immortalSwordsman**

Jason's phone continued to buzz. Looked like weird trolls weren't the only ones trying to get his attention. Hercule needed to talk to him.

**paradoxStrongman **began pestering **immortalSwordsman**

IS: Hercule, can you see this?

PS: Yes, it seems your brother has been temporarily incapacitated. Our ally pulled through.

IS: Our ally?

PS: Medea. I asked for her help in intercepting our foe, some mysterious trickster named Stratus.

IS: Stratus... So she's the one controlling Allison somehow.

PS: Controlling Allison? This is a disturbing development, and would explain why I haven't been able to see her. When did you learn this?

IS: While I was void jumping and crap, that Stratus person pestered me using her account. She tried to impersonate Alli at first, but I called her bluff.

PS: In any case, we should start begin our session and straighten those matters out later.

PS: I've already established a server on my end. All you have to do is connect.

IS: I'll be ready soon.

**paradoxStrongman **ceased pestering **immortalSwordsman**


	11. Interlude: A New Purpose

It had finally been done. She'd scratched them.

Rikta floated in front of the giant green mass that had once been her universe. Tendrils of energy danced across the surface, as they would continue to do for the rest of time. All she had ever known to that point in her life was now in front of her, transformed into a giant neon sun.

And in hindsight, she didn't regret it.

The Seer of Space had finally put the puzzle together. Her purpose was not in her own session, but in one that belonged to another universe. In order to save it from destruction, she would have to scratch hers and start anew.

Her own world had been doomed to destruction, anyway. She had played with eight other trolls who claimed to be her friends. But over time, she realized that they were greedy, envious, and wrathful. Each of them had been playing for their own personal gain, never in the interest of the group. Teamwork was a foreign word. Despite managing to put all nine of them in the game, it fell apart quickly. Things went awry, allies backstabbed each other, and players turned mutinous. She alone understood that their session was meant to act as the literal gateway to another universe and prevent apocalyptic events.

And Rikta also realized that only four could enter this new world. The other four players and their planets would have to stay behind and act as harnesses for the portal.

In a fit of rage, she'd doomed all of the other eight to eternal damnation. Double death, as one might name it. Three evil companions would only slow down her mission.

She held up her hands. Using her space powers, she grasped the Green Sun and split it into eight smaller orbs, each about one-eighth of the star's original size. She connected them with streams of green energy in an octagonal shape. The inside of it glowed and a spiraling green portal opened in the very center.

She leapt into it without fear. After all, it was her destiny.


	12. 3 Minutes To Enter

**Jason: Enter**

Jason slipped the brown envelope containing his two versions of Sburb out of Xavier's back pocket. Finally, all of those antics had paid off. He'd come to realize over the last few hours that this would be more than just a "game." Although he didn't yet know the full extent of it, Sburb would somehow change the lives of him and his friends. And it was time to begin playing.

He checked the watch, almost having forgotten that the timer was still counting down. He had 20 minutes to install and get in-game. He sheathed his new sword and ran downstairs to his room, ignoring the wreckage in the living room. He threw the door open and went straight for his computer, ripping the package open.

Inside were two white cases, each marked with an orange house-shaped symbol. They were labeled "client" and "server" respectively. Jason opened the client copy and inserted the disk into his laptop. An orange spirograph appeared onscreen and a loading bar ran across the screen horizontally. For lack of time, Jason assumed that Herc was already doing the same thing with his server copy.

The game finished loading and opened up a screen displaying his own room. He saw himself on his laptop, with a blank orange bar at the top displaying options. He tried clicking, but couldn't do anything. He decided to try and get a hold of his server player.

**immortalSwordsman **began pestering **paradoxStrongman**

IS: So what now?

PS: Mine just finished installing. I can see you on screen now. You're in the middle of your room, right?

IS: Uh, yeah.

PS: Interesting design choices.

IS: :P

PS: Anyway, I think I have control over your environment. Let's see here...

From behind, something soft smashed into the back of his head. Jason was startled by the hit and turned to see his pillow lying on the ground, presumably where it had landed after it made contact with him. Had Herc done this somehow?

IS: HEY

PS: Sorry, still getting a feel for the controls.

PS: I think I got it now.

PS: Okay, I'm about to deploy some of the devices here. I'll put the punch card machine in your room... And the Alchemiter's on your roof. The Cruxtruder is nearby.

IS: My ROOF?

IS: Couldn't you have made this any easier?

PS: Sorry about that.

PS: I'm making a chute and ladder to your roof from your living room, since that would be easier than the original route.

PS: It would seem that you will need to "prototype" something with the Kernelsprite that will be released from the Cruxtruder. Take something with you that can be easily disposed into the sprite.

IS: Okay, let's see what I can do here...

**immortalSwordsman **ceased pestering **paradoxStrongman**

Jason had jus the thing in mind. On top of the chest in the corner of his room was a ratty, old Pikachu doll that he had owned for years. It had been given to him by a friend, but over time it had worn from improper storage and bad treatment. It had accumulated multiple injuries, even missing half of an ear.

It was perfect.

He captchalogued it and began to leave the room, but spied a thick book sitting on his desk. It was his hardcover mythology book. He'd spent many nights reading it, diving into tales of heroes and monsters. It was one of his personal treasures. Since he had his mind on it, he couldn't help but feel like it wasn't safe anywhere except with him. He captchalogued it too, safely storing it in his sylladex.

He used the newly built ladder to ascend to the rooftop. Two strange devices, placed on opposite ends of rooftop, had appeared in what was previously empty space. The first one had a large platform and some kind of pole extending from the side with multiple slots in it. The other looked more like a cylinder with a valve and a blank gray slot on the side.

Jason turned the valve and the cap on top of the cylinder popped off. A bright orange ball of light came from the tube and floated in midair, blinding him for a second. It was flashing, constantly expanding and contracting. He looked at the Cruxtruder again. Where there had been a blank slot before, 3:00 flashed onto the screen and started counting down.

Without hesitation, Jason took the Pikachu doll out of his sylladex and tossed it into the ball of light. It flashed furiously for a moment, then the head of a Pikachu took shape within the sphere.

Without warning, another object was ejected from his sylladex and flew towards the light. He only saw it for a moment, but it was his beloved mythology book. It entered the sprite, but it did not change visually.

_Dammit, _he thought. A sylladex error, at a time like this? Whatever, he would worry about it later.

He immediately turned the valve again and produced a cruxite dowel. He rushed to put in the provided punch code and carve his dowel. He raced back up to the ceiling, to see only 0:30 left on the timer, but that wasn't what concerned him.

A flaming object was hurtling through the sky towards his apartment. A meteor.

Jason quickly placed the dowel in the Alchemiter and in an instant, a huge orange stature appeared. It was female in figure, but it's face was horrifying and it had snakes for hair.

He immediately knew what to do.

Jason jumped into the air and pulled out his sword. He sliced through the statue's neck like it was made of paper. The Medusa head fell to the ground. He grabbed it and thrust it skyward, toward the meteor. It was closing in on his house. All of the sudden, he knew this is what he was supposed to do.

It _had _to be what he was supposed to do.

There was a huge flash of light. For a moment, he felt weightless, then hit the ground again. When he regained his vision, he looked off the rooftop. There was no longer a dying sunset off in the distance, but he stared into a dusty atmosphere with a blazing hot sun overhead.

**=Land of Deserts and Diamond=**

Miles of sand stretched before him with no other buildings in site. The terrain was wavy, littered with dunes and half-submerged ruins. Many structures had either been partially or completely destroyed. The sand was bright yellow and the stone ruins were a bright orange, ranging to old brown. There were several black figures in the sand, some small and some large. And they were moving towards his apartment.

"Something tells me this is going to be a long day," Jason murmured.

**Author Note: Sorry, it's been a long time since I last updated! I promise that I still exist and I plan on continuing this story. Updates will probably be more sparse with school and all, but I still have plot details in my head.**


	13. Prince of Rage

While he stared into the distance, only one word came to mind.

_Wow._

He knew that Sburb was going to be a time-consuming, somewhat stressful game, but being transported to the middle of nowhere? He wasn't completely sure if he could cope with that.

He began to worry about the black specks in the sand, slowly moving closer. He didn't know what to do other than try to pester Hercule.

**immortalSwordsman **began pestering **paradoxStrongman**

IS: Herc

IS: You're seeing this, right?

PS: I am definitely seeing it.

IS: Can you possibly tell me what the actual-hell is going on?

PS: Well, I can still see your current location from my computer.

PS: It looks like the whole top half of your apartment building has been sliced off. It's currently resting in the sand.

PS: Somehow, you still have an internet connection. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to contact me.

IS: That's great and all, but can you perhaps fill me in on what those things getting closer to me are?

PS: Umm...

PS: If I had to guess, they're... Enemies?

PS: Most of the ones I can see are small, black, and shaped like Pikachus for some reason.

IS: Dear God

PS: If you look up, there's some kind of swirling orange gate above your house.

IS: I can see it

IS: Do you think I'm supposed to...

PS: Get up there? Yes.

PS: It looks like I have some building materials that I can use to extend your house.

PS: If I had to guess, we're working our way up to that point.

IS: Did our plan work? Is everything back on track?

PS: Richard is still frozen in place, so I assume that everything is back the way it's supposed to be.

IS: Great, now I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere.

PS: You might want to go downstairs

PS: There's quite a few

PS: How do I put this?

PS: Visitors. And bring your sword.

IS: Will do

IS: Something tells me I'm going to need it.

**immortalSwordsman **ceased pestering **paradoxStrongman**

Jason climbed back down the ladder to his living room. He had his sword at the ready, but he didn't see anything vicious immediately. Some small piles of sand and dust were scattered about the room. At first he had assumed it was because of his new location, but he realized that none of the windows were open. It couldn't have been blown in, so something must've tracked it.

He walked with caution. He couldn't be sure when something was going to appear at any time. As he moved down the hallway, he noticed that the door to his room was ajar. He grasped the doorknob and pulled it open slowly, then looked inside. Nothing was there, but it looked like something had made a huge mess. That is, aside from the one that was already there.

His semi-organized bookshelf was now in tatters. Many of his posters had claw marks on them or were completely torn in half. A small sand dune had accumulated in the corner of the room.

Jason was disgusted at first, then stunned. His "visitors" must have been here, but they appeared to have vacated the premise. He picked up the shredded remains of a History textbook that he had kept over the summer. A sudden sadness rushed to his face, but he bottled it up quickly. That book had provided hours of entertainment for him. He captchalogued the remains.

Immediately, something pounced on him from behind. He landed face flat on his med and felt small grainy hands work their way around his neck. He grabbed them and pulled them away, lifting it with surprising ease and tossing it behind him.

He got up quickly to face his foe. A short, rat faced mustard-colored creature with ridiculously pointy ears and red stripes on its body attempted to shake off confusion and get back up. For a moment, bright red words reading _Sand Imp _flashed above its head.

Jason grasped the hilt of his sword. Before it could regain mobility, he sliced through it with ease. Its separated halves disappeared, leaving behind a few gem-shaped blocks of multicolored material. He walked over to them and reached to pick them up, but they were absorbed as soon as he touched them. He assumed they were some kind of game construct? He wasn't sure, shrugging his shoulders even though no one was around.

Hercule probably saw that. Whatever, he was probably just as confused as Jason by this point.

Jason looked around his room and checked to see if there were any other hidden enemies. He was relieved to find no more death-pikachus lurking out of sight.

A short scream came from across the hall. Jason momentarily flipped out.

"Crap," he muttered. _I forgot sis is still here!_

He ran across the hall and threw the door to his sister's room open. Inside, six more Sand Imps had trapped Sis in a circle around her bed. By this point, she was standing up on the mattress, still wearing pajamas and bed headed, attempting to defend herself with a broom. She swat at an imp that dared to close in, knocking it backwards.

"Sis!" Jason shouted. He swung his sword, cleaving through two imps instantly.

The other four, minus the one stunned by a broom, were alerted to his presence and dashed at him. He thrust his blade through one, but the other two were in midair before he could react. A broom slapped them both away right before they made contact with him. They exploded into dust clouds as they hit the wall.

He turned to look at the last imp, which had regained its composure. It let out a small yelp, then rushed through the door.

Jason sighed from relief. He turned to speak to Sis, already mentally preparing an explanation. As soon as he turned, he felt her fist hit his face, and hard.

He hit the ground, dropping his sword. He began to rub his face as pain rushed to his cheek. He looked up and saw her crack her knuckles.

"I've only got one question," she growled, "what the hell happened while I was asleep?"

Richard fell into a sort of trance staring at the distant Skaia. He just couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the bright, blue swirling clouds that he could just barely make out. It was so far away, but he longed to touch it. He stretched his arm out and made a grab for it, drawing back nothing but air.

"Who am I kidding," he murmured. "If Jason's meant to be the Hero of this game, then why am I even playing?"

In an instant, his visions of a beautiful Skaian terrain were replaced with distant whispering.

"_Only misfortune awaits you there."_

It sounded like the voices of many beings speaking at once, unified in their speech. He began to question it with anger, full of feelings that he couldn't seem to make sense of.

"How would you know?!" he yelled. It responded almost immediately.

"_Because we have seen your future, as well as your comrades' futures. A great undoing will brought about by your lack of action and your foe's scheming._

"_We, Prince of Rage, are members of the Noble Circle of Horrorterrors, and we are your allies. We wish to awaken your power."_

Richard felt a surge of strength in his hands; a sudden confidence, along with a sudden burst of madness. His thought process quickly became fast and illogical. Why was he here? He needed to be doing much more important things!

His power grew stronger and stronger, until the point where he was able to force himself awake. In an instant, he had left his dream body and began moving again in his house where he had been frozen.

Joseph lunged at him, still stuck on his caffeine craze. Richard quickly flipped the axe around and used the hilt to jab him in the gut. It was enough force to throw Joe across the room and hit the wall, successfully knocking him out once again.

Richard felt like his entire body was seething with rage. His hands grew hotter by the second and felt the desire to destroy. He began to focus his thoughts of hatred towards the first person that came to mind… Jason.

"THAT IDIOT," he yelled, "THIS IS _MY _QUEST!"

Immediately, he ran up the stairs and threw his axe at the pedestal supporting the E. A. Poe bust. It fell to the floor and surprisingly didn't crumble. He capthalogued it immediately, then rushed back down the stairs and out on to the patio behind his house.

The Cruxtruder was still there, opened by Allison. A bright blue sprite floated above the fixture. The countdown clock read 0:30.

"P-O-E!" he bellowed, and threw the ceramic statue head into the sprite. The silhouette of a slightly cracked Edgar Allen Poe became visible inside the sprite, but the countdown clock continued. On the Alchemiter nearby, a life-sized blue statue of a bull missing one horn appeared due to the cruxite dowel that had already been placed there.

Still enraged, Richard went with his gut instinct. He used the axe to slice the remaining horn off the bull statue and it fell to the ground with a large _thunk_. He picked it up quickly, discovering that the inside was hollow. He put the small end of it to his mouth and blew into it, releasing a loud and long groan.

Everything suddenly went black. Weightlessness was all that he felt for a short moment, but his feet made contact with the ground again almost as quickly. He was still on his patio, but the bright green grass and overhead sun had been replaced by curving walls and paths that stretched for as far as he could see.

**=Land of Labyrinths and Quartz=**

Walls. They snaked across the surface of the land for as far as he could see. His house was at the center of an expanded section of the labyrinth with multiple paths splitting off from it. Most of the walls were moss-covered stone, but he could see sections that had been replaced by an opaque white mineral. Night enveloped the entire skyline and torches dotted distant walls. Creatures, some small and others huge, moved just within his range of sight. Blue gates spiraled above his mansion.

He looked up. Again, Skaia loomed off in the distance.

But he didn't care about any of that. There was someone he needed to punish.

He clenched his fists and tightened the scarf around his neck. White hot rage continued pulsing through his arms and legs. He sprinted up to his house and jumped. With physical feats he had never managed before, Richard climbed up the walls of his house and onto the roof. He leaped into the air, somehow managing to pass through his first gate.

He was instantaneously transported to a new planet covered in sand dunes. He saw a two story building off in the distance and small yellow monsters starting to gather around it. More gates rose above it.

Argo was about to get what was coming to him.

At first, Jason had trouble forming words with his mouth. He didn't know where to start explaining to Sis that he had (A), gotten into an intense battle with Bro, and (B) they were no longer in sunny California.

He began mentally preparing details starting from this morning, but was cut off by a large crash coming from outside the room.

_What is it now? _he thought.

He ran outside the door and through the hallway to find a gigantic hole in the wall of his living room and a person standing there. He held an axe in one hand and tendrils of white energy surrounded the other. His eyes were also bright white, but he could make out the face easily- they'd never met in person, but he had seen pictures- his friend, Richard.

"Wait, how…" he tried to get out, but was cut off by Richard's loud bellow.

"TIME TO PAY!" he yelled.


End file.
